Sochi, Russia, May 4, 2016 - A world record for playing Volleyball at altitude was set here Wednesday when men’s and women’s teams from France, Qatar and Russian competed at 2,320 meters (7,612 feet) at the highest point of the "Rosa Khutor" ski resort in Sochi.
The exhibition “Snow” Volleyball match was played as a side event for this week’s FIVB World Tour Sochi Open tournament at the Sport Inn where 48 men’s and women’s matches were played. The exhibition was also used to test the framework for the preparations for the "Rosa Khutor" stage of Snow Volleyball European Championship in 2017.
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A new kind of sport, Snow Volleyball which earned official status from European Volleyball Confederation in 2016 while the CEV Snow Volleyball tour has been held in three countries. Snow Volleyball rules are very similar to the rules of Beach Volleyball - playground dimensions, the number of players (2 on 2) and the ball. The only difference is no sand and a lot of snow as the surface.
The guest of honor and the main referee for Wednesday’s competition was the two-time Russian Olympic Volleyball medalist Alexey Verbov. In the men’s match Wednesday, Russia’s Alexander Likholetov and Artem Khabibulin defeated Qatar’s Julio Cesar and Ahmed Tijan. The women’s winners were France’s Aline Chamereau and Ophelie Lusson, who defeated Russians Darya Rudykh and Elizaveta Zayonchkovskaya.
Three of four teams played in Tuesday’s qualification tournament of Sochi Open. Despite the inclement weather and heavy rain, which at some point was replaced by snow showers, the games were very competitive and played in a great atmosphere.
“It’s not the first experience of refereeing for me, but today the determining factor was the atmosphere that prevailed here on the court,” said Verbov. “It was a Volleyball holiday and not a sport event. We all had a great time, the charge of positive emotions. Snow Volleyball - a great sport, which undoubtedly has a future in Russia. After all, with the snow in our country we never had any problems. With the sand - sometimes yes, but the snow - definitely not. So, I can see this sport in the program of Winter Olympic Games in the future."
For Qatar players, the snow and the weather conditions were a real challenge. "I've seen snow in my life before in Slovakia, but I have never played Volleyball on it,” said Tijan. “It was an incredible spectacle, unbelievable emotions. It was really cool! Thank you for this opportunity."
"The idea of hosting the stage of European Snow Volleyball championship in Sochi was immediately supported by both the representatives of All-Russian Volleyball Federation and the resort," said the tournament director of FIVB Sochi Open, the general director of All-Russian beach sports Association Ilya Volodarsky.
"It's really a great spectacle that was presented for the guests of "Rosa Khutor" today. Since Snow Volleyball and Beach Volleyball are very similar in its format and the rules - it was decided to hold an exhibition match during the Sochi Open Beach Volleyball event," Volodarsky added. "The same as in Beach Volleyball this new kind of sport is accompanied by music, cheerleaders dances and other elements of the show. I think that everything went fine for the first time, although not under the best weather. We will continue to work on the development of this sport in Russia."
https://youtu.be/1MXSP0j7Vyg